Notices

Notices

FOR SERVICES AT FESTIVALS SUCH AS EASTER, CHRISTMAS ETC PLEASE REFER TO THE RELEVANT MONTH IN THE SECTION ENTITLED “DIARIES” WHERE YOU WILL FIND THE MOST UP TO DATE INFORMATION.

Please note that the mid morning service is at 11 a.m. each Sunday except on the 5th Sunday of the month when a United Benefice service will be held at 10 a.m. in one of the churches in the benefice. There is prayer time from 10.30 a.m. in the church hall before the usual 11 a.m. service.

The United Family Service at 10 a.m. on the second Sunday of the month for St. Helen’s and St. Mary’s alternates between the two churches. In January 2019 it will be at St. Marys.

Home Groups

Wednesday Home Group

7.30 p.m. at John and Vanessa’s

Thursday Home Group,

7.30 p.m. at Chris and Margaret’s.

The Thursday group meets fortnightly. If you would like to join a home group please contact Margaret. Alternatively you can use the ‘Contact Us’ page on this web site.

Mid week services

There are three weekly services. There is a Holy Communion Service each Thursday evening at St. Mary’s South Darley at 7.00 p.m. and two Morning Prayers, Tuesday at St, Helen’s Darley Dale and Thursday at St. John the Baptist, Winster, both at 9.30 a.m. Please support these services.

Children’s Ministry at St. Helen’s

Sunday Kids club is taking a break in 2019. We have been running for two years and have had great fun and some special moments sharing the Good News of God’s great love for us all. However in recent months we have only had one or two children attending or none at all. Dea, Vanessa and Katrina have prayerfully decided to put their efforts in to an exciting new initiative called Open Door.
Open Door will be held monthly on a Sunday afternoon and, as all our services are, will be open to ALL. This will be a different experience, free flowing with lots of different activities available…more details and ways people can be involved will be revealed in the Family service on 10th February. We hope Open Door will be a joy-filled event in a safe and friendly environment and to this end we are still fund raising, and learning from other ventures like this around the country.
Thank you for your prayerful support of children’s ministry at St Helen’s over the past two years as we look forward to what God will do in our community in the New Year.

Food Bank

There is a box in the church for donations to Matlock Food Bank. Tins and dry goods please, not perishable items. During December we are also asked for Christmas goods such as Christmas puddings, chocolates and so on. Thank you to all who have supported the Food Bank over the last 12 months.

Weddings

We are very lucky to have three beautiful churches in our United Benefice and last year we were lucky to celebrate weddings in each church. Sadly, many people think they cannot get married in church for various reasons. The reality is people are very welcome to get married in our churches. They are also very welcome to have their wedding blessed if they are getting married abroad. Please pass on the message “ ALL are very welcome to get married in our three churches”. If anyone wishes to talk about getting married I am very happy to speak to them.

Rev. Stephen Monk.

Underhall Services

If anyone is willing to help the team with the services at Underhall on a Sunday afternoon once a month, please see Margaret.

Healing Service

This is held on the first Friday of every month, 9.30 to 10 a.m., in the Parish Room at South Darley. Please support this and if you know of anyone who would like our prayers please let Rev. Monk know.

Churchyard Maintenance

We need volunteers to give just an hour of their time, once a week on a Monday evening, to help to mow the grass and keep the churchyard tidy. Please contact Chris Long using the Contacts page on this web site. Any help you can give will be much appreciated.

Peace Garden
During 2018 a great deal of hard work was done to create a Peace Garden at the back of the Area for Cremated Remains in the church yard. Benches have been donated, digging and planting has been done. The church is very grateful to all who gave their time and expertise to creating this peaceful area and to those who donated the benches, paving slabs and money to make this possible.

Being alone in our churches.

I know people work really hard in our churches throughout the week but could I please remind everyone that we all need to be responsible for our health and safety and so try not to be in church on your own. If you have to be in church on your own you MUST do the following THREE things: have a phone with you; tell someone you’re going to be at church and arrange to call them when you return home; lock yourself in church. Sadly we’ve heard of many people attacked in churches over the last few years. I don’t want any of you being harmed in the place where you should be safest.

Stephen

Christmas Wreaths

When we’ve lost a loved one, it doesn’t matter how recent or how long ago, Christmas is a bitter sweet time. It’s lovely to see the wreaths in the churchyard over Christmas and it’s great to think of the love which never dies. I know that, for many of you, visiting your loved ones grave is painful and so to help over this difficult season the PCC have decided to remove any Christmas wreaths which haven’t been taken away by the end of February. This gives those who look after the churchyard a clear scope at keeping your loved ones graves tidy and reverent. Of course if you wish to remove the wreaths before that it is totally up to you. May all our PCC members assure you of our prayers over the Christmas Season. God Bless.

With Kind Regards and every prayer.

Rev’d Stephen Monk

United Benefice Services

Please note that all united benefice services on the 5th Sunday are at 10 a.m. in all churches.

As stated above, there is a United Family Service at 10 a.m. on the second Sunday of the month for St. Helen’s and St. Mary’s, alternating between the two churches. At the start of 2019 it will be at St. Mary’s on 13th January, in February at St. Helen’s and so on. Please refer to the diary for the relevant month (“Diaries” in the menu) to check if there are any changes to this pattern as that is where you will find the most up to date information.